Review of Hawksmoor brunch - June 2010

The Hawksmoor Brunch burger - A studied take on my biggest guilty pleasure.
Where: Hawksmoor, SpitalfieldsWith whom: Me, myself and I (thanks to Leisure Suit Larry)How much?: £20 all in with coffee and orange juice (and they had to roll me out)

One of the joys of mobile phones (even without the extraneous addition of the now obligatory apps) is the ability to make and rearrange plans at late notice. Unfortunately that also means you can stand people up at late notice, which is how I found myself tucking into my Sausage & Egg HK Muffin as a solo diner. Thankfully I had the paper and a chipper Kiwi knowledgable enough about the football not to make me feel too alone.

As many of you will know (and some may dare to outwardly agree with) there's nothing like a lipsmackingly greasy, salty and robustly overcooked sausage and egg mcmuffin from standardised fast-filth vendors MacDonalds when you need to recover from a hangover. There's something about that combination the morning after the night before that sends grown men (and yes, this is mainly a male thing) into eulogies, willing to trek miles to a shop (I refuse to call it a restaurant) that they'd never normally go near. Thankfully the guys behind legendary Liverpool St steakhouse Hawksmoor have gone and created an up-market version.
I've been to Hawksmoor inumerable times but have only ever had eyes for their steak. While these are available at brunch, it was the sausage muffin I had my eye on. I'd got there early to grab a table, but the Saturday brunch crowd were conspicuous by their absence. A few early lunchers wander in as I read the paper in the dark wood surrounds, enjoying the early summer sun streaming through the slatted blinds. Clean, friendly, knowledgable and efficient. 5 years of service haven't dented the standards here, I hope it continues when the focus shifts towards their new site opening in Covent Garden soon.

The muffin arrives looking promising. While the too runny white lets down the sun yellow yolk of the freerange eggs topping it overall it's a more than worthy classier homage to its high street inspiration. The pork, beef and mutton sausage is a strong, dense patty and full of good fatty flavour. The Ogleshield cheese is a worthy addition, softly yielding, not over-flavoured, soaking into the freshly baked muffin.
Alongside it I'm foolish enough to have the short rib bubble and squeak. Foolish because this is a meal in itself. £4 gets you a very generous portion of roughly mashed potato, buttery greens with a fresh bite swirled in with large, moorish shards of tooth sticking short back rib. Served in an iron skillet, the dish is topped with a thick meaty gravy. As I say, a step to far, but reader, I ate it all...
A significant improvement on Automat's brunch burger and at £8, half the price. It's a guilty pleasue like its namesake but one I'll certainly be back for.